Roganic hosts a guest chef series with Nordic soul

Copenhagen-based chef Christian F Puglisi and Stockholm’s Magnus Ek join Simon Rogan in his kitchen to bring Scandinavian-style feasting to London this spring.

Chef Simon Rogan will welcome two fellow gourmets – Christian F Puglisi from Copenhagen and Stockholm’s Magnus Ek – to his Roganic restaurant in London’s Marylebone for The Scandinavian Series of culinary events. “Scandinavia is a pioneering force when it comes to championing a farm-to-fork ethos and sourcing ingredients sustainably,” Rogan says. “Like myself, many chefs own and work on their own farms to this end.” Indeed, Rogan’s Our Farm in Cartmel Valley provides the majority of the produce for his Lake District restaurants L’Enclume and Rogan & Co, as well as for Roganic in London.

Copenhagen chef Christian F Puglisi will serve an eight-course dinner at Roganic on January 18

Copenhagen chef Christian F Puglisi will serve an eight-course dinner at Roganic on January 18

The first culinary happening will take place on January 18 when Italian-born Puglisi will join Rogan and executive chef Oliver Marlow in the kitchen to create an eight-course dinner (£135 per person, including snacks and a glass of Exton Park Simon Rogan Rosé NV on arrival). As chef-patron of the Michelin-starred Relæ (opened with partner Kim Rossen), casual sister-venue Manfreds and Bæst with its adjoining Mirabelle bakery (all of which are certified organic and focus on sustainably sourced ingredients), Puglisi is also the founder of the Farm of Ideas – an organic, small-scale farming operation aimed at pushing the boundaries of sustainable agriculture and providing produce to restaurants in the Relæ district of his adopted city.

The chef will take inspiration from available ingredients, but the menu is expected to include such offerings as black truffle pudding; January King cabbage, Portland crab, chicken skin and horseradish; or fallow deer and endive.  

Simon Rogan: “Scandinavia is a pioneering force when it comes to championing a farm-to-fork ethos”

Simon Rogan: “Scandinavia is a pioneering force when it comes to championing a farm-to-fork ethos”

Magnus Ek will join Rogan and Marlow for lunch and dinner on March 21. He represents the cream of Scandinavian cuisine as chef-patron of Stockholm’s two-Michelin-starred Oaxen Krog – named in the top four of The White Guide’s best Swedish restaurants in 2019 and previously appearing on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. He is also behind the city’s more informal Oaxen Slip Ek eatery and Oaxen Skärgårdskrog, on the remote island of Oaxen. Ek’s menu is yet to be announced, but if the Michelin Guide’s summation of the experience at Oaxen Krog is an indication of what’s to come, guests can expect “beautifully constructed Nordic dishes allied to nature and the seasons”, which it says are “delicate and balanced but also offer depth of flavour”.